Saskatoon won’t clear all roads despite meeting 25 cm snowfall threshold

The City of Saskatoon isn’t planning on plowing all residential roads.

The city said on Monday that it would not be implementing its roadways Emergency Response Plan (ERP) despite having 25 centimetres or nearly a foot of snow fall onto the ground over the weekend. Twenty-five centimetres is the threshold to activate the ERP.

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“Based on our field assessment, the assessment from our crews, from our supervisors, field managers, mobility across the city is sufficient and acceptable for now,” said the city’s director of roadways, fleet and support Goran Saric during a news conference at city hall on Monday afternoon.

According to Saric, with more vehicles on the road now, the conditions in residential neighbourhoods are getting better.

“We are seeing improvement on the local streets as well because of the snow being packed down. We recognize that there is a lot of snow out there and driving conditions, especially on local streets are challenging still — but every day I think we are seeing some improvements with mobility and for that reason, this decision to activate the emergency response plan hasn’t been made,” Saric explained.

If the city decided to clear all the roads, it would cost between $18 and $20 million.

Across the city on Nov. 25, over 200 people are plowing the roads.

“We have quite a few resources, additional resources mobilized to clean up the city and make sure that the priority streets are cleared as quickly as practically possible,” Saric added.

Saric added while the city won’t clear every residential street, they will monitor problem areas that might need a plow.

“We are taking a very fiscally responsible approach here. For the time being, we are actually assessing all the locations, all the neighbourhoods on a daily basis,” he said. “Our field staff, supervisors and superintendents are keeping that as a high priority. We will continue to keep an eye on and send the resources to those areas where we see those concerns with mobility and safety.”

As of Monday, all Priority 1 streets had been cleared by the city. That includes major roadways and access to emergency facilities.

Work on Nov. 25 had begun on Priority 2 streets like major transit routes and select collector roads.

Priority 3 streets will follow with neighbourhood connectors and school zones once the Priority 2 routes are finished.

The city said the storm last week and this past weekend combined for a total of 52 centimetres of snow.

There were 17 centimetres of snow that fell last week and 25 centimetres fell over the past weekend.

Saric said he estimates the first major snowfall of the year to cost the city $1.5 million and the second one this past weekend to be over $2 million.

No official cost has been given yet as the city is still going through the invoices.

If you’re wondering where your street stands in terms of snow plowing, you can check the city’s website for more.